Conductively-Cooled Slab Laser Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pulsed slab CO2 lasers used in dental applications require high peak power but operate at low average power, necessitating complex cooling arrangements that increase costs, making them prohibitively expensive for dental practices.
Innovation Solution
A gas-discharge slab-laser design without internal fluid-cooling, utilizing elongated electrodes spaced apart by ceramic strips or members to define the discharge-gap, which are made of thermally conductive materials to manage heat without the need for complex cooling systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If complex fluid-cooling arrangements are implemented to manage waste heat at high average power, then heat removal capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cooling function from complex internal fluid-cooling systems and implements it through simple thermal conduction to external heat sinks. The electrodes are thermally coupled to heat sinks that conductively remove heat without requiring internal coolant channels or pumps, thereby eliminating complex cooling arrangements while maintaining effective heat management.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces thermal interface materials and heat sink structures as intermediaries between the electrodes and the environment. These intermediaries facilitate heat transfer from the electrodes to external heat sinks through conduction, providing an effective heat removal path without requiring complex internal cooling systems.
2Productivity
If high average power operation is implemented to increase throughput, then productivity is improved, but cooling system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cooling function from complex internal fluid-cooling systems and implements it through simple thermal conduction to external heat sinks. The electrodes are thermally coupled to heat sinks that conductively remove heat without requiring internal coolant channels or pumps, thereby eliminating complex cooling arrangements while maintaining effective heat management.
3Temperature
If internal fluid-cooling channels are integrated into electrodes, then heat removal efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the cooling channels from the electrode structure itself and replaces them with external heat sinks that are thermally coupled to the electrodes. This eliminates the need to machine complex internal coolant passages through the electrodes, significantly simplifying electrode manufacturing while maintaining effective heat removal through conductive coupling to external heat sinks.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design allows for high peak power delivery at low average power, reducing the necessity for costly cooling arrangements and making the laser more economically viable for dental applications.
Implementation Method 1
The heat transfer system utilizes thermally conductive material positioned between external surfaces of the electrodes and internal surfaces of a housing that contains the electrodes and the lasing medium
Data Source
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AI summary
A carbon dioxide gas-discharge slab-laser is assembled in a laser-housing. The laser-housing is formed from a hollow extrusion. An interior surface of the extrusion provides a ground electrode of the laser. Another live electrode is located within the extrusion, electrically insulated from and parallel to the ground electrode, forming a discharge-gap of the slab-laser. The electrodes are spaced apart by parallel ceramic strips. Neither the extrusion, nor the live electrode, include any direct fluid-cooling means. The laser-housing is cooled by fluid-cooled plates attached to the outside thereof.